Equestrias Shield
by Spartan Wulf
Summary: King Sombra was simply a pawn in the hands of a greater evil soon to arrive in Equestria and the only one to ever know this had been imprisoned until now. Now free, how shall our protagonist handle the way he is treated in society and will the warning he gave the princesses be put to good use? Only time shall tell.


**Equestrias Shield**

Chapter One - A Royal Meeting

I stopped in my tracks as I neared the entrance of the magnificent city before me, as I looked up and admired its beauty I let a satisfied grin spread across my face. I was glad to have finally arrived here, the capital at the centre of Equestria, the only city that could be compared to the crystal empire when it came to the aesthetics or skill of their architecture.

There was the temptation to stand and gaze at this city, though such actions would probably be unwise, mainly because after my journey I was barely able to stand. My body was aching all over, bruised and stained with mud, dirtied by the long trek I had embarked upon through forest and rivers, the same journey that has made my hooves go numb after days of pain. I would have much rather followed the paths from the Crystal Empire to Canterlot or even flown ,though because of my circumstance I couldn't even set a hoof on the paths, let alone take to the skies.

But I was here now and that was all that had mattered to me. I knew my arrival would be unexpected and that from this point onwards things would be rather difficult for me, being either feared or hated as a changeling. In fact from the moment I had set hoof on this path to the gate of Canterlot things had become much harder: I realised I had drawn in some unwanted attention. Around me, hidden in the undergrowth, were several armoured stallions.

I knew they had been there for some time now because as they moved through the leaves and branches I could occasionally catch a glimpse of their armour, illuminated by the light of the moon this dark night. Eventually these armoured stalkers emerged from their hiding places and quickly surrounded me, the six of them spread out so that I had nowhere to run. Not that I would have run even If I had harmful intents. These stallions didn't scare me what so ever. Actually, I think that seeing as I stood almost a foot higher than the tallest of them and had far more experience than most I was far more intimidating than they could ever hope to be.

For a few seconds there was silence as I looked around the circle of guard, trying to identify an obvious leader. They all seemed strong and well taught in their profession but from simple observations I could easily tell who among them lacked the necessary traits to command. That was why when I turned and settled my gaze upon a unicorn with a teal green mane, sapphire blue coat and determined look plastered across his face I knew him to be the leader.

I decided to make the first move, for both his sake and mine, taking a cautious step towards him. I spoke loudly and clearly, with that hint of seriousness in my voice.

"Greetings Sir, I come to this city bearing information I would like to relay to Her Majesty, Princess Celestia. I believe that the information I bear is very important."

The leader seemed shocked, his stern expression loosening slightly to be replaced with that of curiosity. He stared at me for a few seconds before he took his chance to reply.

"Well, Changeling, I cannot comply with your request. My men and I believe that you could be a spy or possibly a solider of Queen Chrysalis ,therefore until proved other wise we are placing you under arrest. This so called information you carry for Princess Celestia shall have to wait.

I nodded in understanding despite having not a clue about who this Queen Chrysalis was. To me this was yet another example of what I had missed during my imprisonment to the north. It seemed as though the most beneficial route I could take now would be to let these guard take me into custody. Perhaps I could enquire about recent events then.

* * *

Once bound by magic I was taken through the city gates and moved slowly down the street, drawing the attention of several other guards and wealthy looking ponies out for a midnight stroll. As I moved even further into the city I began to hear cheering: ponies were gathering around the group of guard whom had capture me and congratulating them, smiling and complimenting them whilst I was given looks of discontent, fear or anger. I was so tempted to open my mouth and ask as to why I was hated , express my own discontent, but my conscious told me to stay quiet, to accept my current circumstances for now.

I closed my eyes and let a weary sigh loose, wondering what these ponies intended to do with me and as to whether I would get to meet this Princess or not. The information I held was important enough to meet with her, however that wasn't the only reason I wanted to see her. I had actually wanted to see how much she had changed in the years that had passed since our last encounter. The day on which she and her sister had fought with my previous master and won, thus resulting in my imprisonment along with his banishment. The imprisonment wasn't entirely their fault, I doubted their intention had been for me to end up sealed away and as such I had no reason to hate them.

A loud noise interrupted this train of thought and served to wake me from my sleep. It seem that my exhaustion had gotten them better of me and when I had closed my eyes to think I had fallen asleep. Fortunately now I was awake again, slightly less tired than before. The guards who had been carrying me were long gone, leaving me alone in a damp stone cell with a single door which I presumed I had enter through.

From the other side of the door came another loud noise, the sound of metal hitting stone and keys being shaken about. All this racket was followed by the sound of hooves edging closer to the thick metal door. I watched in complete silence as the door was thrown open by a white earth pony wearing gold armour.

* * *

"I see you are now awake Changeling, that is good. It seems the Princesses will allow you to present your information to them. I will warn you though, You best show them respect and make sure not to insult either of them or waste their time"

I nodded towards the earth pony and followed him out of my cell, wondering how long I had been napping whilst I was led down a long corridor into yet another stone room. This room was much larger and had very little furnishing with only a few candles fixed upon the wall and a red carpet sprawled the length of the room. Taking a look around the room I could also count four unicorn guard, that would be five guard all together if I were to include the earth pony whom had lead me here. Each guard wore the golden armour and all bore the same stern expression as the last

At the end of the room, directly across from me were the two princesses. On the right stood the glowing Princess Celestia whose presence seemed to illuminate the room and overwhelm any shadows cast by the candles. To the left stood Princess Luna, she didn't glow as her sister did, but her dark coat and flowing mane stood out in her sisters light. Both the sisters stood tall, taller than any other pony in the room by quite a few feet and above me by even fewer. Together they were a beautiful pair, I could not deny such a fact.

I took a single step forward and bowed to the sisters, both seemed surprised by the act though made no comment, simply accepting my gesture before listening to my introduction . This wasn't the first time I had introduced myself to royalty and so, suffice to say, I knew what actions to take then almost exactly what to say.

"Greetings Your Majesties. This changeling presents himself to thee with information of importance to the future of equestria."

Celestia and Luna showed a expression similar to that of the guards I had encountered earlier. I saw them glance towards each other before the elder sister, Celestia took a single step forward to ask me for information.

"Of course, And what is it you want to tell us Changeling?"

"I thought it important to relay to thou the knowledge I came upon before I sealed away by King Sombra. Thou should und-"

Celestia held up a single hoof, signalling for me to stop speaking. I could see the confusion in her face before she looked to me and spoke.

"Changeling, What do you mean that you were sealed away by the King? Please do explain."

"Of course Your Majesties. Thou should know that I was sealed away immediately after thou banished King Sombra into the north. Until then I had served as his closest guard and as such, had come across knowledge that was intended to be kept secret for eternity."

At the mention of such knowledge a few brows were raised. I was sure that the Princesses would inquire further later.

"It would seem that the King knew I had attained such knowledge and so after cursing the crystal empire he used his magic and granted me a different fate, sealing me away at the heart of a mountain. Only recently was I freed when the Kings magic was dispelled.

Then there was silence around the room.

* * *

The Princesses turned to each other and whispered something before turning back to me. Luna looked far more curious than Celestia though never asked any questions, that seemed to be Celestias duty.

"So Changeling, Supposing your tale is true, What was the knowledge you acquired and why is it so significant now, After so many years?"

"I learned that the dark magics used by King Sombra were not his own, but rather, powers granted to him by another. I know not this ponies name ,however, I do know that he was an alicorn and that the mighty King Sombra was only ever a pawn in his grasp. I assure thou that this alicorn is a significant threat to Equestria and to my knowledge shall be attacking soon, possibly with an army. This I all over heard during one of their meetings, where they discussed what would happen if King Sombra ever lost the Crystal Empire.

After this lengthily explanation I took a deep breath before sighing heavily, thankful to finally have such a burden off my chest. To have carried the secret for a thousand years without being able to tell a soul and now, to suddenly have been able to do so, The sudden sense of relief brought a smile of my face, replacing the serious frown I had plastered my face before.

"Thank you Changeling, This warning is deeply appreciated. We shall make sure to have forces prepared just in case. Will that be all?"

I was tempted to nod and turn, walk out of that room with the guard and be escorted back to my cell to rot. But I knew that would be foolish, I had years of experience and knowledge that could be put to much better use. I refused to spend another segment of my life locked away unable to do anything

"No Your Majesties, I wish... I wish to join the guard force. I have experience which I am sure many of the current guard do not and am entirely willing to serve thou to the fullest of my capabilities.

At that point everypony in the room gave me an odd look, of disbelief and shock. Celestia gave me a rather questioning look, as if to say _"Are you serious?"_ whilst the younger sister, Princess Luna, did much more than stare. She confidently took a single step forwards and said something I am sure no pony in the room expected her to.

"We believe that such a request can be granted. Though If thou are to enlist in the guard force thou must first give a name and take on a different form, to save anypony fright.

I nodded, ignoring the piercing glares I was receiving from the guards around me and turned my focus from Celestia to the younger Princess of the night who was trying to ignore Celestias glare. I told my name and bowed, knowing those were few words which would change my future and earn me a place among the guard.

"My name is Crystal Shield, It would be an honour to serve thou Majesties.

* * *

** A/N: So that was the first chapter of this story and the first fanfic I've ever written, I hope you liked it (I know it might be boring now but I promise to try make a little more exciting in the future). I'm sorry for any spelling mistakes that might be lingering around. As for punctuation, well... It's not my strong point to say the least. Anyways I would really appreciate any and all reviews and would ask that you don't hold back, Be as harsh and destructive as you want. This is because I'll be using these reviews to see what needs to be improved whilst I write the next chapter which will be out within the next week or so (hopefully).**


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